Veterans Day 2011

[thetallguy747]

Some great memories you guys have shared. It prompted a couple of my own: I also had a chance meeting with Mudcat Grant. It was about 1990 and I was working as an administrator at Hillsdale College, a small college in a small town in Michigan. Grant had heard of the college and was interested in becoming a donor. Instead of contacting the college first, he just showed up on campus unannounced and started making his way around the executive offices. Since I was known around campus as the reigning baseball nut and St. Louis Cardinals fan, I got a frantic call from the development office asking if I'd ever heard of a guy name Jim Grant who says he used to pitch for the Cardinals. I said of course I had; he went by Mudcat. They said well get over here quick because he's in our office and wants to make a big donation to the college and no one here knows anything about baseball!

He was a very nice guy and I loved how, instead of making his campus tour a big show -- which is the way most big donors want it -- Mudcat just came in unannounced and was very low key about the whole thing. He was a genuinely kind and unpretentious man.

The Ft. Leonard Wood stories made me think of my father. He did his basic training there at the outset of WW2. One night he and a buddy got liquored up at a local watering hole, came back on post and "commandeered" a jeep for some joy riding. The war could have ended for him that night, after he barrel rolled the jeep and wound up in the hospital. But they managed to mend his bones and sew his nose back on and let him go on overseas to fight the Japanese, which he did at New Guinea and then the Phillipines.

God bless all the vets, past and present. I interact with American service men and women on a daily basis over here. And this generation is as good as ever.

Kevin A
Misawa, Japan

[hotcorner4444]

So -- Kevin -- It's your father's fault that Waynesville was off limits to us in 1969. Good to hear those Mudcat Grant stories you and Mike have.

I met him as part of my job as a consultant to the Hall of Fame. He was at one of our education events and spoke eloquently of the importance of education and on a number of other subjects, particularly the problems faced by African American ballplayers well after Jackie Robinson had re-integrated the game.

He was great with the kids at the event. Not all ballplayers appreciate the esteem in which they are held -- even though it may only be for being a ballplayer -- but it was clear that he earned the respect he was shown. While other ex players simply sat and went through the motions of signing autographs, he stood, even though using a walker, shook hands and chatted with the youngsters.

I recommend his book if you get a chance to get your hands on a copy.--- http://www.theblackaces.com/

[bontomn]

I, too, salute --and thank God for--all veterans and all active service members.

My ony two baseball stories: As a political reporter in 1964, I got to interview Jackie Robinson, who was serving as a campaign "adviser" for NY Gov. Nelson Rockefeller in his race for the GOP nomination against Barry Goldwater. We talked for 20-30 minutes, and he was great. It was only after I left that I realized we had only talked baseball, no politics. I cobbled together a story from the press release and mixed in several baseball anecdotes, and the story was used by several hundred papers.

Thirteen years later, I was watching the Little League game of a friend's son in Miami and two men in front of us were talking in Spanish. One of them mentioned the Senators and Washington in English. I grew up in Washington and was a diehard Senators fan. I introduced myself to the two guys who turned out to be Pedro Ramos and Camilo Pascual. Had a great chat with them for the rest of the game.